An Insight into the Notion of Otherness in "Désirée’s Baby" and "That Evening Sun"

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the notion of otherness, which is prevalent throughout the 19^th century in America through the individual and environmental analysis of the main characters in two American short stories- "That Evening Sun" (1931) by William Faulkner and Kate Chopin’s "Désirée's Baby" (1893). The current study presents the common theme in the short stories of both Faulkner and Chopin, which demonstrates how racism, injustice, sexism, and prejudice were imposed on persons in the South during the antebellum era (about the middle of the 19th century to the early 20th century). The diminishing values that African American and female characters have to face are analyzed in the article comparing their situation in relation to gender and racial discrimination, and the way they are segregated from the society. Themes such as victimization, segregation, the isolating nature of inequality, alienation from society and civilization at large, and the position of African American women in the mid-19^th century Southern United States are analyzed in this article through the symbolic elements present in both short stories. By opposing and contrasting the protagonists of the two stories and providing an in-depth analysis of the characteristics and motivations of each character, this article brings awareness to the issue of otherness in its broadest sense.